Disclaimer: I don't own anything Numb3rs, it's all property of CBS and whatnot, so don't sue.
Chapter 9: Morning After and a Momentary Diversion.
The sun slowly rose over the horizon, smiling down on Pasadena California. At a house in the suburbs, Alan Eppes woke up from a somewhat restless night of sleep. The old man stretched before heading out of his room to the bathroom. Before he got to his intended destination, he once again made his way to the room at the end of the hall. He gently opened the door and eyed the occupant inside. Alan smiled when he saw Charlie passed out on his stomach in a large gray t-shirt and black sweat pants from what the dark green comforter failed to conceal. Alan gently closed the door and let his son sleep in once more, knowing he'd been out very late the night before.
When the door clicked shut, a pair of deep brown eyes slowly opened. Charlie had taken the initiative of Christian Wolfe, and popped two sleeping pills for a mercifully dreamless night's sleep. He'd been awake long before his father had poked his head in to see if he'd come home. Charlie stretched before he got up andsat over the side of his bed as hegazed out of his bedroom window, at the bright new sunny morning. The light did nothing to warm him up, for know, his soul felt as cold and dead as Blake Jennings well-cooked corpse probably was by now, frozen in some meat locker God knows where. Charlie ran both his hands through his mass of curly hair and silently waited for the sounds that would indicate that his father had exited the bathroom. The sound of his father heading down the stairs was his signal.
Charlie slowly walked into the freshly vaccated bathroom and took care of the necessary morning rituals before he turned on the shower to a gentle steam. Last night's secret actions had not left him without a few aches and pains. Charlie pulled off the grey T-shirt and black sweat pants he'd slept in and stepped into the welcoming spray. As the water cascaded down his well-toned flesh, Charlie tried his hardest not to think of the previous night's even, save for the faces of Mandy and Sarah Rudyard, the two girls they'd saved. Besides, it didn't do to dwell on that which couldn't be undone. For now, he'd put up the facade of having a normal Sunday morning with his dad. As he continued to enjoy his shower, Charlie wondered what big brother Don was up to.
Little did he know, said brother was pulling up into the drive-way of Casa Eppes. Don planned on spending his day off by first enjoying some of his father's famous cooking, and maybe catch upwith a certain curly haired individual. Don turned off his car and got out, fishing out another set of keys as he neared the door. In the kitchen, Alan looked up from the pancake he was cooking when he heard the fron door open.
" Morning, Dad?" Came the familiar voice of his eldest son.
" In here Don!" Called Alan, hearingfootsteps come closer and closer until his son walked into the kitchen.
" Hey, what's cookin?" Asked Don.
"Pankcakes." Answered Alan, grinning as he saw the eager anticipation fill his son's face. Pankcakes were his favorite.
" Where's Charlie?" Asked Don as he took a seat at the kitchen counter.
" Well, he should be up by now but, he did have to work late last night." Answered Alan as he flipped the cake so the other side could cook.
" Huh, what'd he work late on?" Asked Don, naturally curious.
" He didn't say, just came back home at like, one of two in the morning I think, he told me not to wait up." Said Alan as he deposited the pancake onto the already heftly stack on the plate beside the stove.
Don was about to ask more when the sound of feet coming down the stairs stopped him. He turned and watched a very grouchy looking Charlie walk into the kitchen, wearing a dark blue T-shirt with a white tribal design emblazoned across the chest and a well-worn pair of jeans.
" Morning." Grumbled Charlie as he took a seat beside Don.
" Morning sleepyhead." Grinned Don as he reached out and playfully ruffled his baby brother's curly hair. Much to his delight, this earned a small chuckle from the younger man, who gently swatted away the hand buried in his hair.
" How'd that kidnapping case go?" Asked Charlie, innocently.
Don's smile faltered a moment before becoming slightly less jovial and more reserved.
" We got Mandy and Sarah back safely." Said Don quietly, Charlie felt a small pang of guilt, it was needless to say that Don had not been thrilled by the CIA pawing on his terf.
" Well, that's wonderful!" Grinned Alan as he picked up the plate full of pancakes and headed for the dinning room.
Charlie and Don each grabbed a plate and fork and followed their father to the table. Don immediately forked a few pancakes onto his plate and all but drowned them in syrup. Charlie wrinkled his nose, he never liked pancakes, but he'd eat them for his father's sake.
" You don't seem so thrilled about findings those girls alive and well?" Asked Alan. He watched as Don sighed before he spoke.
" I mean yeah, I'm glad the girls alright but, it wasn't us who saved them." Said Don
" What do you mean?" Asked Alan, his brow knitting in confusion shile Charlie secretly chewed on his inner cheek.
" I mean,The guy who kidnapped these two girls had a beef with the CIA. They're the ones who found the girls and brought them to the parking-lot where theKidnapper said he'd exchange them for thefake money we gave Judge Rudyard.All I can say is, it was intense." Sighed Don.
" How so?" Asked Charlie as he picked at his pancakes.
" After two of the CIA guys carried the girls back to their father, we moved in because we thought they were the bad guys.We have them surrounded and out of nowhere, those two girls pushed their way past us and ran straight into these guys arms, screaming and wailing, saying howthey weren't going to let us hurt them and that these two guys saved them. We're all standing there watching all this when a third guy just walks out of the shadows and hugs the girls to him and then tells them to go to Megan." Said Don, pausing when he saw the shock on both his father and brother's faces.
" Wait a minute, they knew who you guys were?" Asked Alan.
" Well, like I said, they were CIA, Central Intelligence." Said Don as he sat back.
" What happened next?" Asked Charlie, his " curiousity" peaked.
" After Megan drags the girls away, the third guy dissappears back behind the SUV and drags this other guy out, the real Kidnapper, Blake Jennings. He's been cuffed and hooded and the CIA man pushes the sorry piece of crap in front of us and rips of the hood. The guy's been worked over real good and to top it off, he is terrified and has this funny looking collar around his neck. He confesses to everything and when he starts pleading with us, saying he wasn't actually going to hurt the kids, the CIA man pulls out a remote that looked more like a pen with a little red button on top. The collar thingy around Jennins's neck comes to life and shoots God nows how many volts of electricity through him. I tell the CIA dude to stop and all he does is tell me off and give me an ultimatum, I could either watch him fry Blake Jennings or I could go make sure the girls were alright. I chose to go see the girls and then start my report, hell, there wasn't much else I could do." Said Don as he shook his head, there was an uncomfortable silence before Alan spoke.
" These guys were the real deal huh?" He asked.
" Oh yeah, I tell you now, I wouldn't ever want to get on this guy's bad side in particular." Said Don, not seeing the flash of guilt that passed through Charlie's eyes. Charlie licked his suddenly dry lips before speaking.
" Well, at least two lives were saved." Said Charlie quietly.
" Yeah, they were." Agreed Don, not catching the mischevious gleam in Charlie's eyes.
" You got told off." Said Charlie in a sing-song voice, grinning from ear to ear.
That seemed to snap Don out of his downer mood. A fire lit in Don's eyes.
" Oh now you are gonna get it!" He barked before he lunged at his baby brother. Charlie barely managed to bolt from his seat and headed for the living room, Don hot on his heels. Charlie let out a yelp when he felt Don tackle him into the soft carpet. The next thing Charlie knew, Don proceeded to tickle him silly.
" You take that back!" Laughed Don as he continued his assault on the writhing form beneath him. From where he sat, Alan Eppes was laughing his head off at seeing his boys, both grown men, frolicking like they were kids again. It was a heartwarming sight for the old man.
"Make...Me!" Cried Charlie breathlessly as he continued to fight half-heartedly against his older brother.
Charlie knew full well that he could send his brother flying if he wanted to, but it just so happened, he was thoroughly enjoying being at Don's mercy. Upon hearing this, Don doubled his efforts, finding all of the sensitive areas. After a good two minutes, Charlie was mewing for mercy, the two brothers rolling around the floor, laughing so hard they had tears streaming from their eyes. After a good five-minutes, Don got to his feet and pulled Charlie up with him, only to have Charlie pounce on him and give him a noogy.The two continued to rough-house until their father intervened.
" Boy's, enough, breakfast is getting cold." Chuckled Don, watching as his boys obediantly returned to the table and began to calmy eat their breakfast. Charlie felt happy, happier than he had been in a long time, it almost made him forget what he'd done the night before...
Almost.